Love them or hate them for it, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has a habit of releasing limited edition seasonal blends.  You may recall one of my first reviews was of Green Mountain’s Golden French Toast Blend.  Well, if you’re craving a cup of it now, take heart, you’re probably only 4-6 months away from it being available again.  Were you a fan of the Green Mountain Island Coconut?  I hope not because you’ll have to wait another 8 months or so before that’s back on the market.

The onset of summer brings us two more limited edition season blends to talk about.  I’ll cover the Summer Symphony flavor in a later review.  Today’s review is all about the exceptionally fruity Raspberry Rhapsody.  As I pretty much always do, I took my friends at Green Mountain up on their offer to send me some samples of their seasonal blends, but when the box arrived and I saw one of them was “Bursting with the flavors of sweet and juicy, sun-ripened raspberries”, I thought to myself, “Uh Oh, this isn’t going to work”.

The more coffee I drink, the less I like light roast varieties (of which Raspberry Rhapsody qualifies).  I’ve also never been a fan of flavored coffee (Hazelnut, French Vanilla, etc.).  With the unbelievable exception of Golden French Toast, any unnatural flavoring it’s pretty much a non-starter for me.  Raspberries in coffee?  As I said, uh oh.

What it says on the box

Bursting with the flavors of sweet and juicy, sun-ripened raspberries.  A cup of summer’s delight!

Tasting Notes (lifted as always)

We’re delighted to unveil our latest Limited Edition flavor, Raspberry Rhapsody! Bursting with the flavor of sun-kissed raspberries, it’s a refreshing treat for Summer. Enjoy it just-brewed, or over ice (maybe with a touch of sweet cream.)

A lovely complement to lazy summer days on the porch, picnics at the park, or even a festive parade (we’ll have an iced glass in-hand for our community Independence Day bash) it’s reason enough to celebrate all by itself. Like all of our Limited Edition coffees, it’s Fair Trade Certified™, too.

Our Flavored coffees do not use sugars or sweeteners of any kind. Click here for nutritional information!

The Aroma

To say there are fruit notes would be a tremendous understatement. It smells like a raspberry dessert sauce. Any trace of actual coffee smell are pretty much obliterated by the power of the raspberry.  Did I mention it smells like Raspberries?

Drinking It Black

More so than with other flavored K-Cups I’ve tried thus far, Raspberry Rhapsody maintains the raspberry flavor that’s so prevalent in the aroma.  We’re not talking about a sensation of drinking hot raspberry juice or anything, but it’s nearly equal parts coffee and raspberry.

The powerful raspberry flavor isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  If you wanted a plain old cup of coffee, that’s probably what you would have chosen.  For those looking for a fruity spin on summer, the light-roasted, light-bodied, easy drinking Raspberry Rhapsody from Green Mountain fits the bill.

With Cream and Sugar

I’ll let you in a little secret I’ve learned over the last couple of months.  Light roast coffee usually wants to be light and sweet.  Raspberry Rhapsody is no exception.  By all means, give it what it wants; generous portions of both cream and sugar.  The sweetness is a natural compliment to the raspberry flavor and makes for a very sweet and flavorful cup of coffee.  Word of warning; you may not feel like you’re drinking coffee, as the sensation is something entirely different.

Over Ice

The Green Mountain tasting notes suggest that Raspberry Rhapsody is particularly good over ice.  With that in mind, I called my wife at home (she works in the school system, so over the summer months she has little else to do but sit on her (paint) can) and asked her to brew 2 Raspberry Rhapsody K-Cups on the smallest setting, and toss them in the fridge until I could get home (some of us have to work), to test the Green Mountain recommendation.

If you’re of the opinion that coffee is a man’s drink to be served piping hot and black as night, then well, you’ll probably want to move on.  If you, however, are willing to every now and again get your sissy on and take a heaping bucket of light roast flavored coffee, pour it over ice, mix in ridiculous amounts of cream and sugar, and sit on your bright red couch and watch Oprah, well…have I ever discovered the blend for you.

As a burly, manly-man, I’m a little embarrassed to tell you how much I love Raspberry Rhapsody over ice.  Somebody get me some whipped cream and a cherry, make that a raspberry.  In any case I’m drinking the hell out of the stuff.  It’s just that good.

Final Thoughts

It’s varieties like Green Mountain’s Raspberry Rhapsody that are going to force me to stop making irrational blanket statements like “I don’t like flavored coffee”.  Clearly, that’s not always true.  Coffee purists will likely steer well clear of Raspberry Rhapsody, but for the java-flexible among us, it’s a light and sweet treat to be enjoyed both hot and over ice.

Before I get to my standard shameless plug, I want to offer up a plug of sorts to Chef John over at Food Wishes.  He has a recipe for a Chocolate Lava Cake which I’ve now made successfully several times over.  It’s not only delicious, but it’s extremely easy to make (if I can do it, anyone can).  I share this with you because I often serve Chef John’s lava cake over a homemade raspberry dessert sauce.  While I was drinking Green Mountain’s Raspberry Rhapsody I found myself wondering if it wouldn’t be the perfect coffee complement to the decadent dessert.  I’m certainly going to try it next time I make the lava cake.

Shameless Plug

As I always do, I’m going to encourage (beg) you to visit and buy from the sponsors of the K-Cup Challenge.  In the case of Green Mountain Coffee I’ll suggest you do it right quick as Raspberry Rhapsody K-Cups are available for a limited time only.

At Green Mountain you can Save $2 on every box when you join their Café EXPRESS program.

If the notion of raspberry flavored coffee doesn’t appeal to you, you might want to check out a selection of Zhenas Iced Teas.  The Fair Trade Certified sampler includes 3 satchels each of the following:

• Mango Ginger White Iced Tea
• Strawberry Osmanthus
• Pineapple Green
• Blueberry Acai Herbal

While you’re here, check out all the reviews in the K-Cup Challenge.